The opening of the Concours season could not have been more impressive. The Amelia Island golf course in Florida once again provided the perfect setting and the spring weather played along. And so, for the 19th time in 2013, exquisite automobiles (and a few motorcycles) gathered on the manicured green. Around 300 vehicles - racing cars, one-offs, rarities and concept cars from the past to the present - were on display and admired by the 25,000 visitors.
Bill Warner, the founder of the Concours, has managed to develop Amelia Island into a top address and so manufacturers and collectors were not asked twice and brought breathtaking trouvailles to Florida, including the two Benz "Prinz Heinrich" from 1910, the BMW Turbo from 1972 or the Cadillac "Coupe de Ville' prototype presented for the first time in over 50 years. Also interesting was the La Salle pair, which made the contrast between "as found" and concours condition transparent.
Countless racing legends, from Stirling Moss to Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant, Bobby Rahal, Peter Brock, Brian Redmond, Hurley Haywood, Vic Elford and David Hobbs were on hand to enjoy their former racing cars.
50 years of the Ford GT 40
Of course, anniversaries were the reason for some special line-ups. For example, 50 years of the Ford GT 40 were celebrated, as Ford gave the go-ahead for this project in 1963. An impressive selection of GT40 vehicles was on site, including a rare J model and the Le Mans winner from 1968 and 1969.
50 years of the Porsche 911 and Lamborghini
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, there were not only famous racing cars on the golf course but also, for example, a police Porsche as it was built for the Dutch police in 1968.
To mark Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, the one-off Miura Spider (1968) and other sporty models from the manufacturer were on display.
60 years of the Chevrolet Corvette
The highlights of the Corvette presentation, also celebrating a milestone birthday, were the 1959 Stingray concept car, the Grand Sport and the Pininfarina Rondine Corvette, probably the most elegant Corvette of all time.
The racing cars of Harry Miller
90 years ago, a monoposto by Harry Miller won the 500 miles of Indianapolis. 20 vehicles from his oeuvre were shown to mark the occasion, including the supercharged Miller 91, which set a new speed record with front-wheel drive in 1928.
The Shark Roadster
In 1961, Henry Covington built a streamlined vehicle that he called "El Tiburon", which means shark in German. Thanks to sophisticated aerodynamics, the aim was to reach high speeds even with little horsepower from the engine of a Renault 4CV. Six such coupés were built, followed by six Shark Roadsters, all with plastic bodies.
Fiberglass expert Geoffrey Hacker bought one of them several decades ago and has now refurbished it in no time at all ahead of the Concours d'Elegance. In Florida, the super-flat convertible was on display in a magnificent paint job reminiscent of the shark.
Post-war Spohn bodies
Also of great interest were two special Spohn bodies, which faced the strict eyes of the judges. Spohn, a coachbuilder from Ravensburg, had bodied both Maybach and Veritas chassis before the Second World War and was also responsible for the bodywork on the Veritas Nürburgring vehicles.
In the difficult period after the Second World War, the company bought chassis that were no longer in use and put special bodies on them. Two of these, one on a Ford chassis and the other on a Veritas chassis, were on display. It was also interesting that one of the cars was shown in an unrestored condition (but with functioning mechanics).
The winners of the beauty contest
A Duesenberg SJN with supercharger from 1936 won the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Award. Its 320 hp ensured unrivaled performance in the 1930s, with 0 to 160 km/h reportedly possible in just under 17 seconds even back then.
The sports car that won the Concours de Sport Award was even faster. The Ford GT 40 with chassis number 1075 won Le Mans in 1968 and 1969. The sports car, which was only one meter high, completed just 11 races and won six of them.
We would like to thank Rafael Martin for making his photos available to us. You can see more of his pictures on his Facebook page .
We also thank Geoffrey Hacker from forgottenfiberglass for his pictures. And we are also happy to show the impressive atmospheric pictures by Nathan Deremer - Deremer Studios .
